Category: Software

The good folks at Econ Technologies recently began offering some of its software for free, in order to allow it the time to focus on its flagship products. Earlier this week, Portraits & Prints, ImageCaster, and DayChaser specifically, went from paid software to freeware. Recognizing the mounting difficulty in competing with cloud-based services such as Google Calendars (which is free to use) was a contributing factor in the early Christmas present that Econ has provided for everyone.

Portraits & Prints is a print shop sort of application allowing you to print off photos in customizable and out-of-the-ordinary ways. From the Econ web site:

Select your photos and they are automatically arranged onto templates and displayed on screen the exact same way they are printed. You don’t waste time arranging photos and you don’t waste paper since you see the printout beforehand.

ImageCaster allows you to share your webcam’s view to webpages, turn it into a security camera, and more. It even gives you the option to schedule postings if you so choose. From the Econ web site:

ImageCaster contains a full set of features within a simple interface. Whether you’re setting up multiple webcams from several cameras or just a webcam at home, ImageCaster keeps the process easy. ImageCaster not only uploads the image it creates the webpage too.

DayChaser can essentially be likened to iCal. I’ve used it in a limited capacity before, and it has functioned well. Though I’d agree with Econ that competing with the likes of Google Calendar et al., is a losing battle. From the Econ web site:

DayChaser lets you create and manage multiple calendar documents simultaneously. Each calendar document contains its own unique set of scheduled entries and To-Do items that can be customized so your personal organizer is truly personal.

All of the above applications have been updated to be Snow Leopard compatible prior to being made freely available. At this point in time, Econ Techologies will be turning all of its attention to improving the already solid ChronoSync and ChronoAgent programs. Both represent robust options for system backups, synchronization, and remote administration. In fact, I’ve found ChronoSync to be invaluable in backing up my work MacBook Pro to a remote SAN.

Everyone’s gotta love free programs (I personally have a problem because I download them all and my Applications folder is atrocious!) right? If any of these sound interesting, why not give them a shot? However, be forewarned that because they are now free, support will likely be negligible, and updates are no longer in the cards.

Over a year ago I had the pleasure of profiling David Barnard’s App Cubby and their growing selection of iPhone applications. David’s attention to detail and the feedback of his many customers has allowed him to grow Gas Cubby into a great app for tracking your automobile’s maintenance, costs, and data. When it was selling for $10 I thought it was worth it, but now with Gas Cubby by FRAM, you can pick it up for free.

While the iPhone gains momentum like the juggernaut it appears to be, the App Store has continued to draw criticism, and yet, developers are still flocking to the platform. The result is that fart apps aren’t cutting it anymore, and every developer must bring their ‘A’ game if they want to have a chance at making it in this business. As with the rest of the business world in this economy, making it as an iPhone App Developer also means being able to evolve.

Gas Cubby evolved as many others have done, and began offering a Lite version that allowed the user to judge for themselves, while logging up to 5 records. But now they’ve taken it to the next level with the free version supported through targeted ads by FRAM (a division of Honeywell). Gas Cubby represents a solid and proven automobile maintenance tracking application for the iPhone platform — something that likely would’ve taken a company like Honeywell a significant amount of time to bring to market and cultivate to Gas Cubby’s level of accomplishment.

What makes this partnership interesting is that it’s one-to-one. The ads within the application aren’t coming from some ad service that rotates several ‘targeted’ graphics, but rather represent a unique collaboration of developer and product manufacturer. The graphics and landing page are all customized to coordinate with Gas Cubby, rather than trying to fit a square peg into a round hole with a link out to a general product page. Tapping one of the ‘Tough Guard’ ads for instance, loads an in-app browser page for FRAM oil filters with information on how to buy. It’s all very well integrated and doesn’t distract from the task at hand.

For Honeywell, they can now target users who care enough about their vehicles that they track all of its data. And thanks to the partnership with App Cubby, they’ve got an insider’s knowledge of the iPhone platform and the landscape of the App Store. The combination sure appears to be a solid match-up that will likely benefit both parties.

If you have yet to pull the trigger on Gas Cubby, you no longer have an excuse not to with Gas Cubby by FRAM. It’s a terrific way to track the health and maintenance of your vehicle, without missing anything important that could lead to more costly expenses. Of course the non ad-supported full version is still available for $6.99.

Autoblog picked up on an interesting story about Ford Motor Company’s efforts to create middleware that will let future cars interact with mobile devices, including iPhones. Sync, developed in conjunction with Microsoft, aims to not only give you access to your phone book and playlists, but also wants to allow you to use all those third-party apps you’ve downloaded.

Think about it: hands-free access to iPhone Apps as you drive. Sign us up.

One of the biggest hurdles creating an interface like this is getting developers to start working on apps that mobile device owners would want to use in their vehicles. “So Ford has to reach out to people eager to develop apps for cars, and make the process fun for the developers. Long approval periods and heavy layers of corporate interference will just turn would-be Sync app writers off,” says Autoblog’s Jonny Lieberman.

Sync’s open API allows developers to create apps for virtually any type of phone, but Ford selected iPhones as its research model because of its popularity. Sync developers met with a group of computer science students from the University of Michigan and asked them to build a couple of iPhone Apps so researchers could test their viability as a truly mobile app.

The first, FollowMe, lets users track each other’s locations so no one gets lost traveling caravan-style from place to place. SyncCast, the other app the students came up with, allows users to play any radio station in the U.S through the car stereo via their iPhone. It only took the students three months to develop the apps and, by all accounts, working with the Sync API was a piece of cake. Ironically, it was the iPhone’s Apple-specific toolkit that gave developers the most grief.

There’s no word when this technology will be ready for the open market but when it is, will you want it on it? Would the ability to interact hands free with your iPhone influence your car-buying decisions? Let us know in the comments.

I’m not unfamiliar with video game emulators. I’m not endorsing them, mind you, but I’m not unfamiliar. So my curiosity was piqued when I heard tell of a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone, one that had managed to gain official sanction and was being sold in the App Store.

I didn’t get to it fast enough. Nescaline, as the app was called, not only allowed you to play some built-in homebrew games, which probably would’ve been fine all on its own, but provided a way to download additional ROMs remotely. In effect, you could import any copyright-violating old-school NES ROM that you could find on the web. Such an ability was bound to get the app pulled, and pulled it has been.

While it lasted, it sold for $6.99 and boasted many features like “multitouch” control, full-screen mode, tap-to-shoot light gun emulation, save-state writing and retrieval — even support for Game Genie codes.

While the feature list may sound fairly impressive, user reviews from people who did manage to get their hands on the game were less than stellar, though not entirely negative. Commenter TokyoDisco at Pocket Gamer had this to say:

I spent far too long trying to add my own roms though. I know where to get them and everything, but I’m obviously entering the URL in wrong.

The five included roms are a bit rubbish to tell you the truth. The controls can be pretty unresponsive and the audio is jerky. Portrait and landscape modes are a nice touch.

If you’re still interested in Nescaline, I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for a reprieve from the App Store reviewers, like the one recently given to a Commodore 64 emulator for the iPhone platform. In fact, it was probably just the fault of someone asleep at the switch that it managed to make it in to begin with at all. Shouldn’t be too hard to get it up and running on a jailbroken device, though, or to use one of the other emulators available for those devices.

Big change in TV distribution is in the wind, if the Wall Street Journal’s reporting on Apple’s “all you can eat” iTunes television plan is true. According to the WSJ, CBS and Disney are considering allowing their entire television lineup to be sold on a single-fee, all-access subscription basis. Consumers will love this, but many traditional cable companies will probably feel as though Apple shoved coal in their stockings.

Apple’s subscription strategy makes the most sense when viewed alongside the introduction of a larger screen iPod device. Some will buy the “iPod Tablet” because it’s new and exciting, but at an average of $25 or more per season per show, iTunes as it currently exists won’t be replacing your cable company anytime soon. However, with a network-wide subscription service, the balance changes.

More devices means the same content in more places for the same monthly fee. Your Apple TV becomes the digital hub Steve always imagined it to be and, hopefully, gets upgraded by Apple to handle it’s new role as a set-top box. Your iPod Tablet becomes your TV anywhere device; not as good as your home TV, but much better than your iPhone.

Back in June, I wrote how cable companies and Apple were on a collision course, and the WSJ’s article only reinforces the points I made then. It’s not just cable companies of course; DirecTV, AT&T Uverse and other traditional media distribution companies will feel just as threatened. Cable companies, though, are the most established in the field and have the most to lose. Combined free HD over-the-air local broadcasts and a iTunes network subscription for premium content, and Apple really starts looking like a spoiler to Comcast and the like.

Cable companies bundle content to increase revenue. Subscribers can’t pick and choose channels a la carte. If you want ESPN, you often have to pay for Disney and ABC Family. To be fair, the networks, not the media distribution companies, are sometimes the ones forcing these packages down our throats. Want SyFy? Then NBC/Universal can make the cable company carry other owned stations such as MSNBC and Bravo. The cost of the additional channels is passed along to the consumer.

Pricing a few shows from the same network on iTunes today, I find it’s often cheaper to just buy the next tier with your provider rather than subscribe “per show” via iTunes. Apple’s new plan changes these traditional rules. According the the WSJ article, networks actually make more money by removing the cable company middleman. It’s the cable providers and local affiliates that are left hurting.

Not only do the traditional cable companies lose subscriber money, but they also lose their fringe revenue sources. All of a sudden people aren’t renting expensive DVR. They also lose lucrative “On Demand,” opportunities as well as local advertising dollars as consumers downgrade their channel lineup or drop their subscription altogether.

Is it any surprise that Comcast wants to buy NBC/Universal? Do they see where Apple is going? Probably. The value isn’t in the pipe providing content, but the content itself. Time shifting and place shifting are empowering consumers and raising expectations. Hulu, Boxee, Slingbox, iTunes, and Netflix allow us to watch our TV shows practically anywhere. Live sports is one area Apple hasn’t quite figured out, but it’s only a matter of time. Considering Steve Job’s relationship with Disney, which owns ESPN, I expect some innovative method of providing live content to the forthcoming tablet.

Apple pushed the music industry hard to allow digital distribution — and won. First, they got a majority of labels to provide content to iTunes, and then convinced them to drop the DRM. Does Apple have the muscle to push the TV industry while fighting local franchise authorities? Even with Steve Jobs on the board of Disney, I think Apple bit off more than they can chew.

Expect the hardest pushback from companies that provide both TV and internet service. Some will even employ internet bandwidth restrictions or tactics that violate the principles of net neutrality. They’ll also claim that since Apple isn’t a Multiple System Operator as defined by the FCC, Apple is an unfair competitor. Unlike cable companies, Apple isn’t bound by “Must Carry” rules, and the cable companies will cry foul.

Who will win? In reality, the networks and the cable companies are already at war, Apple just decided to choose sides. I want Apple to win so I can ditch the cable company, but I think the deck is stacked against the Mac maker, and the backlash of any small victories will prevent other networks from signing on. Only the Ghost of Christmas Future knows the outcome.

Perhaps you’ve grown tired of Tweetie, Twitterific or Socialite. Before you resort to Adobe AIR apps like Seesmic and TweetDeck, give Kiwi, the new kid on the block, a try. Fans of customizable third-party clients for other social services like Adium will probably find something to love in this fresh-faced addition to the Mac’s Twitter options.

Kiwi comes with a number of theme customization options pre-installed, and being primarily utilitarian in my own tastes when it comes to Twitter, I’m not sure what else you could ask for. For those with more imagination and a thirst for variety, though, you can download countless more themes from the web.

You can also customize the toolbar that appears above your time line in the client window, just like you can with Firefox. It’s a neat feature, but so far, there aren’t enough options to choose from to make this worthwhile. It could prove useful later, depending on how Twitter’s growth plays out feature-wise.

Kiwi is simple, in terms of functions, which makes it an appealing choice for the casual Twitter user. You get one window, with your basic time line, and icons across the top allow you to switch the view to @ mentions or DMs. Clicking on a tweet brings up a conversation view, and clicking on a user’s icon shows that person’s time line.

Retweeting uses the new API, and there’s no option to switch to old-school RT or “via” style quotes. Users new to the service, or those who like Twitter’s official implementation, might enjoy this, but it’s a deal-breaker for me. Nor am I crazy about the way Kiwi handles account switching (click on your own profile icon and choose from a drop-down list) but at least multiple-account support is present. It seems to take up a bit more memory than Tweetie, too.

Twitter search is easily accessed by typing a keyword into the bottom field and pressing enter. Once you activate a search, a Loop icon appears where your account picture is usually found, and the results are displayed in the main time line. Going back to your accounts is as simple as clicking on the Loop and switching back, or using the menu or Kiwi’s keyboard shortcuts. It’s a clean and efficient way of managing many functions from a single, convenient location.

Kiwi is free to try, but it’ll cost you $14.95 to unlock the full version. Check it out if you’re looking for something simple, yet customizable and unique. I’d definitely recommend it for new users looking to transition smoothly from the web interface to a desktop solution.